In bracket drag racing, where there are numerous drivers who compete in heats comprising two drivers, there are two criteria that a driver must meet to win the race. First, the driver must cross the finish line sooner that the other driver in their heat. Second, the time of the winning driver in each heat is compared with a target time. The driver who wins his heat and comes closest to the target time without going under the target time wins the overall race. For example, in a race with a target time of 8.90 seconds, a driver who reaches the finish line with a time of 8.89 seconds will lose the race to the driver whose time was 8.906 seconds. Therefore, in this type of racing, accurate timing is as critical as winning the race. There is a need for drivers to measure every aspect relevant to the vehicle acceleration functions.
It is common at the beginning of the race for the driver to engage the transmission into the lowest forward gear by a shifter inside the race car. When the car is staged on the starting line, the driver presses down on a release button (called a transbrake button), and holds the button down. The transbrake engages the transmission into reverse gear and forward gear at the same time so the torque of the engine at high RPM cannot move the race car. When the transbrake is released the reverse gear is disengaged and the race car can move forward.
The transbrake is kept engaged by the driver holding down a release button on the transbrake control panel. To begin the race, a number of lights at the starting line of the race track are illuminated in sequence (amber-green) to signal to the driver the start of the race. When the green signal is indicated, the driver releases the transbrake button, which in turn releases the transbrake. The release of the transbrake causes the engine torque to act on a driveshaft, causing it to turn. The vehicle then begins to accelerate.
Transbrake arrangements of the prior art are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,678,214 B1; 6,406,398 B1; 6,050,384 B; and 5,622,088; which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Drag racing of this type typically requires several races over a single day of competition, requiring a competitor to make several runs to be successful.
One of the problems encountered in drag racing is that transbrakes are controlled by electric solenoids must be affixed directly to the transmission housing in order that their actuating rod reach into the transmission valve body. The transmission housing rapidly heats up, in turn causing the electric circuitry of the electric solenoid to overheat over the course of a racing day, and this often leads to their failure during later race runs. The overheating of the electric solenoid typically occurs at the starting line. The failure of the electric solenoid causes the reverse gear to disengage. With no reverse gear engaged, the driver is forced to use the brake pedal to hold the racer car still on the starting line through foot braking. When leaving the starting line by foot braking, reaction times will be either too slow or too fast, and this leads to less than optimal starting performance causing the racer to lose the race.
The use of electrical solenoids has presented a long-standing problem for drag racers in that they remain a source of risk of disqualification.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved transmission and transbrake system which overcomes the above-noted problems in the prior art.